THE BOOK OF JOSUE
This Book is called JOSUE, because it contains the history
of what passed under him, and according to the common
opinion was written by him. The Greeks call him Jesus: for
Josue and Jesus in the Hebrew, are the same name, and have
the same signification, viz., A SAVIOUR. And it was not
without a mystery that he who was to bring the people into
the land of promise should have his name changed from OSEE
(for so he was called before, Num. 13.17,) to JOSUE or
JESUS, to give us to understand, that Moses by his law
could only bring the people within sight of the promised
inheritance, but that our Saviour JESUS was to bring us
into it.
Josue Chapter 1
Josue, encouraged by the Lord, admonisheth the people to
prepare themselves to pass over the Jordan.
1:1. Now it came to pass after the death of Moses, the
servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke to Josue, the son
of Nun, the minister of Moses, and said to him:
1:2. Moses my servant is dead: arise, and pass over this
Jordan, thou and thy people with thee, into the land which
I will give to the children of Israel.
1:3. I will deliver to you every place that the sole of
your foot shall tread upon, as I have said to Moses.
1:4. From the desert, and from Libanus unto the great river
Euphrates, all the land of the Hethites, unto the great sea
toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border.
1:5. No man shall be able to resist you all the days of thy
life: as I have been with Moses, so will I be with thee: I
will not leave thee, nor forsake thee.
1:6. Take courage, and be strong: for thou shalt divide by
lot to this people the land for which I swore to their
fathers, that I would deliver it to them.
1:7. Take courage therefore, and be very valiant: that thou
mayst observe and do all the law, which Moses my servant
hath commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or
to the left, that thou mayst understand all things which
thou dost.
1:8. Let not the book of this law depart from thy mouth:
but thou shalt meditate on it day and night, that thou
mayst observe and do all things that are written in it:
then shalt thou direct thy way, and understand it.
1:9. Behold I command thee, take courage, and be strong.
Fear not, and be not dismayed: because the Lord thy God is
with thee in all things whatsoever thou shalt go to.
1:10. And Josue commanded the princes of the people,
saying: Pass through the midst of the camp, and command the
people, and say:
1:11. Prepare your victuals: for after the third day you
shall pass over the Jordan, and shall go in to possess the
land, which the Lord your God will give you.
1:12. And he said to the Rubenites, and the Gadites, and
the half tribe of Manasses:
1:13. Remember the word, which Moses the servant of the
Lord commanded you, saying: The Lord your God hath given
you rest, and all this land.
1:14. Your wives, and children; and cattle, shall remain in
the land which Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan:
but pass you over armed before your brethren all of you
that are strong of hand, and fight for them,
1:15. Until the Lord give rest to your brethren, as he hath
given you, and they also possess the land which the Lord
your God will give them: and so you shall return into the
land of your possession, and you shall dwell in it, which
Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan,
toward the rising of the sun.
1:16. And they made answer to Josue, and said: All that
thou hast commanded us, we will do: and whither soever thou
shalt send us, we will go.
1:17. As we obeyed Moses in all things, so will we obey
thee also: only be the Lord thy God with thee, as he was
with Moses.
1:18. He that shall gainsay thy mouth, and not obey all thy
words, that thou shalt command him, let him die: only take
thou courage, and do manfully.
Josue Chapter 2
Two spies are sent to Jericho, who are received and
concealed by Rahab.
2:1. And Josue, the son of Nun, sent from Setim two men, to
spy secretly: and said to them: Go, and view the land, and
the city of Jericho. They went, and entered into the house
of a woman that was a harlot, named Rahab, and lodged with
her.
2:2. And it was told the king of Jericho, and was said:
Behold there are men come in hither, by night, of the
children of Israel, to spy the land.
2:3. And the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying: Bring
forth the men that came to thee, and are entered into thy
house: for they are spies, and are come to view all the
land.
2:4. And the woman taking the men, hid them, and said: I
confess they came to me, but I knew not whence they were:
2:5. And at the time of shutting the gate in the dark, they
also went out together. I know not whither they are gone:
pursue after them quickly, and you will overtake them.
2:6. But she made the men go up to the top of her house,
and covered them with the stalks of flax, which was there.
2:7. Now they that were sent, pursued after them, by the
way that leadeth to the fords of the Jordan: and as soon as
they were gone out, the gate was presently shut.
2:8. The men that were hid were not yet asleep, when behold
the woman went up to them, and said:
2:9. I know that the Lord hath given this land to you: for
the dread of you is fallen upon us, and all the inhabitants
of the land have lost all strength.
2:10. We have heard that the Lord dried up the water of the
Red Sea, at your going in, when you came out of Egypt: and
what things you did to the two kings of the Amorrhites,
that were beyond the Jordan, Sehon and Og whom you slew.
2:11. And at the hearing these things, we were affrighted,
and our heart fainted away, neither did there remain any
spirit in us, at your coming in: for the Lord your God he
is God in heaven above, and in the earth beneath.
2:12. Now, therefore, swear ye to me by the Lord, that as I
have shewed mercy to you, so you also will shew mercy to my
father's house: and give me a true token.
2:13. That you will save my father and mother, my brethren
and sisters, and all things that are theirs, and deliver
our souls from death.
2:14. They answered her: Be our lives for you unto death,
only if thou betray us not. And when the Lord shall have
delivered us the land, we will shew thee mercy and truth.
2:15. Then she let them down with a cord out of a window:
for her house joined close to the wall.
2:16. And she said to them: Get ye up to the mountains,
lest perhaps they meet you as they return: and there lie ye
hid three days, till they come back, and so you shall go on
yonr way.
2:17. And they said to her: We shall be blameless of this
oath, which thou hast made us swear,
2:18. If, when we come into the land, this scarlet cord be
a sign, and thou tie it in the window, by which thou hast
let us down: and gather together thy father and mother, and
brethren, and all thy kindred into thy house.
2:19. Whosoever shall go out of the door of thy house, his
blood shall be upon his own head, and we shall be quit. But
the blood of all that shall be with thee in the house,
shall light upon our head, if any man touch them.
2:20. But if thou wilt betray us, and utter this word
abroad, we shall be quit of this oath, which thou hast made
us swear.
2:21. And she answered: As you have spoken, so be it done:
and sending them on their way, she hung the scarlet cord in
the window.
2:22. But they went and came to the mountains, and stayed
there three days, till they that pursued them were
returned. For having sought them through all the way, they
found them not.
2:23. And when they were gone back into the city, the spies
returned, and came down from the mountain: and passing over
the Jordan, they came to Josue, the son of Nun, and told
him all that befel them,
2:24. And said: the Lord hath delivered all this land into
our hands, and all the inhabitants thereof are overthrown
with fear.
Josue Chapter 3
The river Jordan is miraculously dried up for the passage
of the children of Israel.
3:1. And Josue rose before daylight, and removed the camp:
and they departed from Setim, and came to the Jordan: he,
and all the children of Israel, and they abode there for
three days.
3:2. After which, the heralds went through the midst of the
camp,
3:3. And began to proclaim: When you shall see the ark of
the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests of the
race of Levi carrying it, rise you up also, and follow them
as they go before:
3:4. And let there be between you and the ark the space of
two thousand cubits: that you may see it afar off, and know
which way you must go: for you have not gone this way
before: and take care you come not near the ark.
3:5. And Josue said to the people: Be ye sanctified: for
tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.
3:6. And he said to the priests: Take up the ark of the
covenant, and go before the people. And they obeyed his
commands, and took it up, and walked before them.
3:7. And the Lord said to Josue: This day will I begin to
exalt thee before Israel: that they may know that as I was
with Moses, so I am with thee also.
3:8. And do thou command the priests, that carry the ark of
the covenant, and say to them: When you shall have entered
into part of the water of the Jordan, stand in it.
3:9. And Josue said to the children of Israel: Come hither,
and hear the word of the Lord your God.
3:10. And again he said: By this you shall know, that the
Lord, the living God, is in the midst of you, and that he
shall destroy, before your sight, the Chanaanite and the
Hethite, the Hevite and the Pherezite, the Gergesite also,
and the Jebusite, and the Amorrhite.
3:11. Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all
the earth shall go before you into the Jordan.
3:12. Prepare ye twelve men of the tribes of Israel, one of
every tribe.
3:13. And when the priests, that carry the ark of the Lord
the God of the whole earth, shall set the soles of their
feet in the waters of the Jordan, the waters that are
beneath shall run down and go off: and those that come from
above, shall stand together upon a heap.
3:14. So the people went out of their tents, to pass over
the Jordan: and the priests that carried the ark of the
covenant, went on before them.
3:15. And as soon as they came into the Jordan, and their
feet were dipped in part of the water, (now the Jordan, it
being harvest time, had filled the banks of its channel,)
3:16. The waters that came down from above stood in one
place, and swelling up like a mountain, were seen afar off,
from the city that is called Adom, to the place of Sarthan:
but those that were beneath, ran down into the sea of the
wilderness, (which now is called the Dead Sea) until they
wholly failed.
3:17. And the people marched over against Jericho: and the
priests that carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord,
stood girded upon the dry ground in the midst of the
Jordan, and all the people passed over, through the channel
that was dried up.
Josue Chapter 4
Twelve stones are taken out of the river to be set up for a
monument of the miracle; and other twelve are placed in the
midst of the river.
4:1. And when they were passed over, the Lord said to
Josue:
4:2. Choose twelve men, one of every tribe:
4:3. And command them to take out of the midst of the
Jordan, where the feet of the priests stood, twelve very
hard stones, which you shall set in the place of the camp,
where you shall pitch your tents this night.
4:4. And Josue called twelve men, whom he had chosen out of
the children of Israel, one out of every tribe,
4:5. And he said to them: Go before the ark of the Lord
your God to the midst of the Jordan, and carry from thence
every man a stone on your shoulders, according to the
number of the children of Israel,
4:6. That it may be a sign among you: and when your
children shall ask you tomorrow, saying: What means these
stones?
4:7. You shall answer them: The waters of the Jordan ran
off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord when it
passed over the same: therefore were these stones set for a
monument of the children of Israel forever.
4:8. The children of Israel therefore did as Josue
commanded them, carrying out of the channel of the Jordan
twelve stones, as the Lord had commanded him according to
the number of the children of Israel unto the place wherein
they camped, and there they set them.
4:9. And Josue put other twelve stones in the midst of the
channel of the Jordan, where the priests stood that carried
the ark of the covenant: and they are there until this
present day.
4:10. Now the priests that carried the ark, stood in the
midst of the Jordan, till all things were accomplished,
which the Lord had commanded Josue to speak to the people,
and Moses had said to him. And the people made haste, and
passed over.
4:11. And when they had all passed over, the ark also of
the Lord passed over, and the priests went before the
people.
4:12. The children of Ruben also, and Gad, and half the
tribe of Manasses, went armed before the children of
Israel, as Moses had commanded them.
4:13. And forty thousand fighting men by their troops and
bands, marched through the plains and fields of the city of
Jericho.
4:14. In that day the Lord magnified Josue in the sight of
all Israel, that they should fear him, as they had feared
Moses, while he lived. 4:15. And he said to him:
4:16. Command the priests, that carry the ark of the
covenant, to come up out of the Jordan.
4:17. And he commanded them, saying: Come ye up out of the
Jordan.
4:18. And when they that carried the ark of the covenant of
the Lord, were come up, and began to tread on the dry
ground, the waters returned into their channel, and ran as
they were wont before.
4:19. And the people came up out of the Jordan, the tenth
day of the first month, and camped in Galgal, over against
the east side of the city of Jericho.
4:20. And the twelve stones, which they had taken out of
the channel of the Jordan, Josue pitched in Galgal,
4:21. And said to the children of Israel: When your
children shall ask their fathers tomorrow, and shall say to
them: What mean these stones?
4:22. You shall teach them, and say: Israel passed over
this Jordan through the dry channel,
4:23. The Lord your God drying up the waters thereof in
your sight, until you passed over:
4:24. As he had done before in the Red Sea, which he dried
up till we passed through:
4:25. That all the people of the earth may learn the most
mighty hand of the Lord, that you also may fear the Lord
your God for ever.
Josue Chapter 5
The people are circumcised: they keep the pasch. The manna
ceaseth. An angel appeareth to Josue.
5:1. Now when all the kings of the Amorrhites, who dwelt
beyond the Jordan, westward, and all the kings of Chanaan,
who possessed the places near the great sea, had heard that
the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the
children of Israel, till they passed over, their heart
failed them, and there remained no spirit in them, fearing
the coming in of the children of Israel.
5:2. At that time the Lord said to Josue: Make thee knives
of stone, and circumcise the second time the children of
Israel.
The second time... Not that such as had been circumcised
before were to be circumcised again; but that they were now
to renew, and take up again the practice of circumcision;
which had been omitted during their forty years' sojourning
in the wilderness; by reason of their being always
uncertain when they should be obliged to march.
5:3. He did what the Lord had commanded, and he circumcised
the children of Israel in the hill of the foreskins.
5:4. Now this is the cause of the second circumcision: All
the people that came out of Egypt that were males, all the
men fit for war, died in the desert, during the time of the
long going about in the way:
5:6. Now these were all circumcised. But the people that
were born in the desert,
5:6. During the forty years of the journey in the wide
wilderness, were uncircumcised: till all they were consumed
that had not heard the voice of the Lord, and to whom he
had sworn before, that he would not shew them the land
flowing with milk and honey.
5:7. The children of these succeeded in the place of their
fathers, and were circumcised by Josue: for they were
uncircumcised even as they were born, and no one had
circumcised them in the way.
5:8. Now after they were all circumcised, they remained in
the same place of the camp, until they were healed.
5:9. And the Lord said to Josue: This day have I taken away
from you the reproach of Egypt. And the name of that place
was called Galgal, until this present day.
5:10. And the children of Israel abode in Galgal, and they
kept the phase, on the fourteenth day of the month at
evening, in the plains of Jericho:
5:11. And they ate on the next day unleavened bread of the
corn of the land, and frumenty of the same year.
5:12. And the manna ceased after they ate of the corn of
the land, neither did the children of Israel use that food
any more, but they ate of the corn of the present year of
the land of Chanaan.
5:13. And when Josue was in the field of the city of
Jericho, he lifted up his eyes, and saw a man standing over
against him, holding a drawn sword, and he went to him, and
said: Art thou one of ours, or of our adversaries?
5:14. And he answered: No: but I am prince of the host of
the Lord, and now I am come.
Prince of the host of the Lord, etc... St. Michael, who is
called prince of the people of Israel, Dan. 10.21.
5:15. Josue fell on his face to the ground. And
worshipping, said: What saith my lord to his servant?
Worshipping... Not with divine honour, but with a religious
veneration of an inferior kind, suitable to the dignity of
his person.
5:16. Loose, saith he, thy shoes from off thy feet: for the
place whereon thou standest is holy. And Josue did as was
commanded him.
Josue Chapter 6
After seven days' processions, the priests sounding the
trumpets, the walls of Jericho fall down: and the city is
taken and destroyed.
6:1. Now Jericho was close shut up and fenced, for fear of
the children of Israel, and no man durst go out or come in.
6:2. And the Lord said to Josue: Behold I have given into
thy hands Jericho, and the king thereof, and all the
valiant men.
6:3. Go round about the city all ye fighting men once a
day: so shall ye do for six days.
6:4. And on the seventh day the priests shall take the
seven trumpets, which are used in the jubilee, and shall go
before the ark of the covenant: and you shall go about the
city seven times, and the priests shall sound the trumpets.
6:5. And when the voice of the trumpet shall give a longer
and broken tune, and shall sound iu your ears, all the
people shall shout together with a very great shout, and
the walls of the city shall fall to the ground, and they
shall enter in every one at the place against which they
shall stand.
6:6. Then Josue, the son of Nun, called the priests, and
said to them: Take the ark of the covenant: and let seven
other priests take the seven trumpets of the jubilee, and
march before the ark of the Lord.
6:7. And he said to the people: Go, and compass the city,
armed, marching before the ark of the Lord.
6:8. And when Josue had ended his words, and the seven
priests blew the seven trumpets before the ark of the
covenant of the Lord,
6:9. And all the armed men went before, the rest of the
common people followed the ark, and the sound of the
trumpets was heard on all sides.
6:10. But Josue had commanded the people, saying: You shall
not shout, nor shall your voice be heard, nor any word go
out of your mouth: until the day come wherein I shall say
to you: Cry, and shout.
6:11. So the ark of the Lord went about the city once a
day, and returning into the camp, abode there.
6:12. And Josue rising before day, the priests took the ark
of the Lord,
6:13. And seven of them seven trumpets, which are used in
the jubilee: and they went before the ark of the Lord,
walking and sounding the trumpets: and the armed men went
before them, and the rest of the common people followed the
ark, and they blew the trumpets.
6:14. And they went round about the city the second day
once, and returned into the camp. So they did six days.
6:15. But the seventh day, rising up early, they went about
the city, as it was ordered, seven times.
6:16. And when in the seventh going about the priests
sounded with the trumpets, Josue said to all Israel: Shout:
for the Lord hath delivered the city to you:
6:17. And let this city be an anathema, and all things that
are in it, to the Lord. Let only Rahab, the harlot, live,
with all that are with her in the house: for she hid the
messengers whom we sent.
6:18. But beware ye lest you touch ought of those things
that are forbidden, and you be guilty of transgression, and
all the camp of Israel be under sin, and be troubled.
6:19. But whatsoever gold or silver there shall be, or
vessels of brass and iron, let it be consecrated to the
Lord, laid up in his treasures.
6:20. So all the people making a shout, and the trumpets
sounding, when the voice and the sound thundered in the
ears of the multitude, the walls forthwith fell down: and
every man went up by the place that was over against him:
and they took the city,
6:21. And killed all that were in it, man and woman, young
and old. The oxen also, and the sheep, and the asses, they
slew with the edge of the sword.
6:22. But Josue said to the two men that had been sent for
spies: Go into the harlot's house, and bring her out, and
all things that are hers, as you assured her by oath.
6:23. And the young men went in, and brought out Rahab, and
her parents, her brethren also, and all her goods, and her
kindred, and made them to stay without the camp.
6:24. But they burned the city, and all things that were
therein; except the gold and silver, and vessels of brass
and iron, which they consecrated unto the treasury of the
Lord. _
6:25. But Josue saved Rahab the harlot, and her father's
house, and all she had, and they dwelt in the midst of
Israel until this present day: because she hid the
messengers whom he had sent to spy out Jericho. At that
time, Josue made an imprecation, saying:
6:26. Cursed be the man before the Lord, that shall raise
up and build the city of Jericho. In his firstborn may he
lay the foundation thereof, and in the last of his children
set up its gates.
Cursed, etc... Jericho, in the mystical sense, signifies
iniquity: the sounding of the trumpets by the priests, the
preaching of the word of God; by which the walls of Jericho
are thrown down, when sinners are converted; and a dreadful
curse will light on them who build them up again.
6:27. And the Lord was with Josue, and his name was noised
throughout all the land
Josue Chapter 7
For the sins of Achan, the Israelites are defeated at Hai.
The offender is found out; and stoned to death, and God's
wrath is turned from them.
7:1. But the children of Israel transgressed the
commandment, and took to their own use of that which was
accursed. For Achan, the son of Charmi, the son of Zabdi,
the son of Zare, of the tribe of Juda, took something of
the anathema: and the Lord was angry against the children
of Israel.
7:2. And when Josue sent men from Jericho against Hai,
which is beside Bethaven, on the east side of the town of
Bethel, he said to them: Go up, and view the country: and
they fulfilled his command, and viewed Hai.
7:3. And returning, they said to him: Let not all the
people go up, but let two or three thousand men go, and
destroy the city: why should all the people be troubled in
vain, against enemies that are very few?
7:4. There went up therefore three thousand fighting men:
who immediately turned their backs,
7:5. And were defeated by the men of the city of Hai, and
there fell of them six and thirty men: and the enemies
pursued them from the gate as far as Sabarim, and they slew
them as they fled by the descent: and the heart of the
people was struck with fear, and melted like water.
7:6. But Josue rent his garments, and fell flat on the
ground, before the ark of the Lord, until the evening, both
he and all the ancients of Israel: and they put dust upon
their heads.
7:7. And Josue said: Alas, O Lord God, why wouldst thou
bring this people over the river Jordan, to deliver us into
the hand of the Amorrhite, and to destroy us? would God we
had stayed beyond the Jordan, as we began.
7:8. My Lord God, what shall I say, seeing Israel turning
their backs to their enemies?
7:9. The Chanaanites, and all the inhabitants of the land,
will hear of it, and being gathered together will surround
us, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou
do to thy great name?
7:10. And the Lord said to Josue: Arise, why liest thou
flat on the ground?
7:11. Israel hath sinned, and transgressed my covenant: and
they have taken of the anathema, and have stolen and lied,
and have hid it among their goods.
7:12. Neither can Israel stand before his enemies, but he
shall flee from them: because he is defiled with the
anathema. I will be no more with you, till you destroy him
that is guilty of this wickedness.
7:13. Arise, sanctify the people, and say to them: Be ye
sanctified against tomorrow: for thus saith the Lord God of
Israel: The curse is in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou
canst not stand before thy enemies, till he be destroyed
out of thee, that is defiled with this wickedness.
7:14. And you shall come in the morning, every one by your
tribes: and what tribe soever the lot shall find, it shall
come by its kindreds, and the kindred by its houses and tho
house by the men.
7:15. And whosoever he be that shall be found guilty of
this fact, he shall be burnt with fire, with all his
substance, because he hath transgressed the covenant of the
Lord, and hath done wickedness in Israel.
7:16. Josue, therefore, when he rose in the morning, made
Israel to come by their tribes, and the tribe of Juda was
found.
7:17. Which being brought by in families, it was found to
be the family of Zare. Bringing that also by the houses, he
found it to be Zabdi:
7:18. And bringing his house man by man, he found Achan,
the son of Charmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zare, of
the tribe of Juda.
7:19. And Josue said to Achan: My son, give glory to the
Lord God of Israel, and confess, and tell me what thou hast
done, hide it not.
7:20. And Achan answered Josue, and said to him: Indeed I
have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel, and thus
and thus have I done.
7:21. For I saw among the spoils a scarlet garment,
exceeding good, and two hundred sicles of silver, and a
golden rule of fifty sicles: and I coveted them, and I took
them away, and hid them in the ground in the midst of my
tent, and the silver I covered with the earth that I dug
up.
7:22. Josue therefore sent ministers: who running to his
tent, found all hid in the same place, together with the
silver.
7:23. And taking them away out of the tent, they brought
them to Josue, and to all the children of Israel, and threw
them down before the Lord.
7:24. Then Josue, and all Israel with him, took Achan, the
son of Zare, and the silver, and the garment, and the
golden rule, his sons also, and his daughters, his oxen,
and asses, and sheep, the tent also, and all the goods: and
brought them to the valley of Achor:
His sons, etc... Probably conscious to, or accomplices of,
the crime of their father.
7:25. Where Josue said: Because thou hast troubled us, the
Lord trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him: and
all things that were his, were consumed with fire.
7:26. And they gathered together upon him a great heap of
stones, which remaineth until this present day And the
wrath of the Lord was turned away from them. And the name
of that place was called the Valley of Achor, until this
day.
Achor... That is, trouble.
Josue Chapter 8
Hai is taken and burnt, and all the inhabitants slain. An
altar is built, and sacrifices offered. The law is written
on stones, and the blessings and cursings are read before
all the people.
8:1. And the Lord said to Josue: Fear not, nor be thou
dismayed: take with thee all the multitude of fighting men,
arise, and go up to the town of Hai: Behold I have
delivered into thy hand the king thereof, and the people,
and the city, and the land.
8:2. And thou shalt do to the city of Hai, and to the king
thereof, as thou hast done to Jericho, and to the king
thereof: but the spoils, and all the cattle, you shall take
for a prey to yourselves: lay an ambush for the city behind
it.
8:3. And Josue arose, and all the army of the fighting men
with him, to go up against Hai: and he sent thirty thousand
chosen valiant men in the night,
8:4. And commanded them, saying: Lay an ambush behind the
city: and go not very far from it: and be ye all ready.
8:5. But I, and the rest of the multitude which is with me,
will approach on the contrary side against the city. And
when they shall come out against us, we will flee, and turn
our backs, as we did before:
8:6. Till they pursuing us be drawn farther from the city:
for they will think that we flee as before.
8:7. And whilst we are fleeing, and they pursuing, you
shall rise out of the ambush, and shall destroy the city:
and the Lord your God will deliver it into your hands.
8:8. And when you shall have taken it, set it on fire, and
you shall do all things so as I have commanded.
8:9. And he sent them away, and they went on to the place
of the ambush, and abode between Bethel and Hai, on the
west side of the city of Hai. But Josue staid that night in
the midst of the people,
8:10. And rising early in the morning, he mustered his
soldiers, and went up with the ancients in the front of the
army, environed with the aid of the fighting men.
8:11. And when they were come, and were gone up over
against the city, they stood on the north side of the city,
between which and them there was a valley in the midst.
8:12. And he had chosen five thousand men, and set them to
lie in ambush between Bethel and Hai, on the west side of
the same city:
Five thousand... These were part of the thirty thousand
mentioned above, ver. 3.
8:13. But all the rest of the army went in battle array on
the north side, so that the last of that multitude reached
to the west side of the city. So Josue went that night, and
stood in the midst of the valley.
8:14. And when the king of Hai saw this, he made haste in
the morning, and went out with all the army of the city,
and set it in battle array, toward the desert, not knowing
that there lay an ambush behind his back.
8:15. But Josue, and all Israel gave back, making as if
they were afraid, and fleeing by the way of the wilderness.
8:16. But they shouting together, and encouraging one
another, pursued them. And when they were come from the
city,
8:17. And not one remained in the city of Hai and of
Bethel, that did not pursue after Israel, leaving the towns
open as they had rushed out,
8:18. The Lord said to Josue: Lift up the shield that is in
thy hand, towards the city of Hai, for I will deliver it to
thee.
8:19. And when he had lifted up his shield towards the
city, the ambush, that lay hid, rose up immediately: and
going to the city, took it, and set it on fire.
8:20. And the men of the city, that pursued after Josue,
looking back, and seeing the smoke of the city rise up to
heaven, had no more power to flee this way or that way:
especially as they that had counterfeited flight, and were
going toward the wilderness, turned back most valiantly
against them that pursued.
8:21. So Josue, and all Israel, seeing that the city was
taken, and that the smoke of the city rose up, returned,
and slew the men of Hai.
8:22. And they also that had taken and set the city on
fire, issuing out of the city to meet their own men, began
to cut off the enemies who were surrounded by them. So that
the enemies being cut off on both sides, not one of so
great a multitude was saved.
8:23. And they took the king of the city of Hai alive and
brought him to Josue.
8:24. So all being slain that had pursued after Israel, in
his flight to the wilderness, and falling by the sword in
the same place, the children of Israel returned and laid
waste the city.
8:25. And the number of them that fell that day, both of
men and women, was twelve thousand persons, all of the city
of Hai.
8:26. But Josue drew not back his hand, which he had
stretched out on high, holding the shield, till all the
inhabitants of Hai were slain.
8:27. And the children of Israel divided among them, the
cattle and the prey of the city, as the Lord had commanded
Josue.
8:28. And he burnt the city, and made it a heap forever:
8:29. And he hung the king thereof on a gibbet, until the
evening and the going down of the sun. Then Josue
commanded, and they took down his carcass from the gibbet:
and threw it in the very entrance of the city, heaping upon
it a great heap of stones, which remaineth until this
present day.
8:30. Then Josue built an altar to the Lord, the God of
Israel, in Mount Hebal,
8:31. As Moses, the servant of the Lord, had commanded the
children of Israel, and it is written in the book of the
law of Moses: an altar of unhewn stones, which iron had not
touched: and he offered upon it holocausts to the Lord, and
immolated victims of peace offerings.
8:32. And he wrote upon stones, the Deuteronomy of the law
of Moses, which he had ordered before the children of
Israel.
8:33. And all the people, and the ancients, and the
princes, and judges, stood on both sides of the ark, before
the priests that carried the ark of the covenant of the
Lord, both the stranger and he that was born among them,
half of them by Mount Garizim, and half by Mount Hebal, as
Moses the servant of the Lord, had commanded. And first he
blessed the people of Israel.
8:34. After this, he read all the words of the blessing and
the cursing, and all things that were written in the book
of the law.
8:35. He left out nothing of those things which Moses had
commanded, but he repeated all before all the people of
Israel, with the women and children, and strangers, that
dwelt among them.
Josue Chapter 9
Josue is deceived by the Gabaonites: who being detected are
condemned to be perpetual servants.
9:1. Now when these things were heard of, all the kings
beyond the Jordan, that dwelt in the mountains, and in the
plains, in the places near the sea, and on the coasts of
the great sea, they also that dwell by Libanus, the
Hethite, and the Amorrhite, the Chanaanite, the Pherezite,
and the Hevite, and the Jebusite,
9:2. Gathered themselves together, to fight against Josue
and Israel with one mind, and one resolution.
9:3. But they that dwelt in Gabaon, hearing all that Josue
had done to Jericho and Hai:
9:4. Cunningly devising took for themselves provisions,
laying old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles rent
and sewed up again,
9:5. And very old shoes, which for a show of age were
clouted with patches, and old garments upon them: the loaves
also, which they carried for provisions by the way, were
hard, and broken into pieces:
9:6. And they went to Josue, who then abode in the camp at
Galgal, and said to him, and to all Israel with him: We are
come from a far country, desiring to make peace with you.
And the children of Israel answered them, and said:
9:7. Perhaps you dwell in the land which falls to our lot;
if so, we can make no league with you.
9:8. But they said to Josue: We are thy servants. Josue
said to them: Who are you? and whence came you?
9:9. They answered: From a very far country thy servants
are come in the name of the Lord thy God. For we have heard
the fame of his power, all the things that he did in Egypt.
9:10. And to the two kings of the Amorrhites, that were
beyond the Jordan, Sehon, king of Hesebon, and Og, king of
Basan, that was in Astaroth:
9:11. And our ancients, and all the inhabitants of our
country, said to us: Take with you victuals for a long way,
and go meet them, and say: We are your servants, make ye a
league with us.
9:12. Behold, these loaves we took hot, when we set out
from our houses to come to you, now they are become dry,
and broken in pieces by being exceeding old.
9:13. These bottles of wine when we filled them were new,
now they are rent and burst. These garments we have on, and
the shoes we have on our feet, by reason of the very long
journey, are worn out, and almost consumed.
9:14. They took therefore of their victuals, and consulted
not the mouth of the Lord.
9:15. And Josue made peace with them, and entering into a
league, promised that they should not be slain: the princes
also of the multitude swore to them.
9:16. Now three days after the league was made, they heard
that they dwelt nigh, and they should be among them.
9:17. And the children of Israel removed the camp, and came
into their cities on the third day, the names of which are,
Gabaon, and Caphira, and Beroth, and Cariathiarim.
9:18. And they slew them not, because the princes of the
multitude had sworn in the name of the Lord, the God of
Israel. Then all the common people murmured against the
princes.
9:19. And they answered them: We have sworn to them in the
name of the Lord, the God of Israel, and therefore we may
not touch them.
9:20. But this we will do to them: Let their lives be
saved, lest the wrath of the Lord be stirred up against us,
if we should be forsworn:
9:21. But so let them live, as to serve the whole multitude
in hewing wood, and bringing in water. As they were
speaking these things,
9;22. Josue called the Gabaonites, and said to them: Why
would you impose upon us, saying: We dwell very far off
from you, whereas you are in the midst of us?
9:23. Therefore you shall be under a curse, and your race
shall always be hewers of wood, and carriers of water, into
the house of my God.
9:24. They answered: It was told us, thy servants, that the
Lord thy God had promised his servant Moses, to give you
all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants thereof.
Therefore we feared exceedingly and provided for our lives,
compelled by the dread we had of you, and we took this
counsel.
9:25. And now we are in thy hand: deal with us as it
seemeth good and right unto thee.
9:26. So Josue did as he had said, and delivered them from
the hand of the children of Israel, that they should not be
slain.
9:27. And he gave orders in that day, that they should be
in the service of all the people, and of the altar of the
Lord, hewing wood, and carrying water, until this present
time, in the place which the Lord hath chosen.
Josue Chapter 10
Five kings war against Gabaon. Josue defeateth them: many
are slain with hailstones. At the prayer of Josue the sun
and moon stand still the space of one day. The five kings
are hanged. Divers cities are taken.
10:1. When Adonisedec, king of Jerusalem, had heard these
things, to wit, that Josue had taken Hai, and had destroyed
it, (for as he had done to Jericho and the king thereof, so
did he to Hai and its king) and that the Gabaonites were
gone over to Israel, and were their confederates,
10:2. He was exceedingly afraid. For Gabaon was a great
city, and one of the royal cities, and greater than the
town of Hai, and all its fighting men were most valiant.
10:3. Therefore Adonisedec, king of Jerusalem, sent to
Oham, king of Hebron, and to Pharam, king of Jerimoth, and
to Japhia, king of Lachis, and to Dabir, king of Eglon,
saying:
10:4. Come up to me, and bring help, that we may take
Gabaon, because it hath gone over to Josue, and to the
children of Israel.
10:5. So the five kings of the Amorrhites being assembled
together, went up: the king of Jerusalem, the king of
Hebron, the king of Jerimoth, the king of Lachis, the king
of Eglon, they and their armies, and camped about Gabaon,
laying siege to it.
10:6. But the inhabitants of the city of Gabaon, which was
besieged, sent to Josue, who then abode in the camp at
Galgal, and said to him: Withdraw not thy hands from
helping thy servants: come up quickly, and save us, and
bring us succour: for all the kings of the Amorrhites, who
dwell in the mountains, are gathered together against us.
10:7. And Josue went up from Galgal, and all the army of
the warriors with him, most valiant men.
10:8. But the Lord said to Josue: Fear them not: for I have
delivered them into thy hands: none of them shall be able
to stand against thee.
10:9. So Josue going up from Galgal all the night, came
upon them suddenly.
10:10. And the Lord troubled them, at the sight of Israel:
and he slew them with a great slaughter, in Gabaon, and
pursued them by the way of the ascent to Bethoron, and cut
them off all the way to Azeca and Maceda.
10:11. And when they were fleeing from the children of
Israel, and were in the descent of Bethoron, the Lord cast
down upon them great stones from heaven, as far as Azeca:
and many more were killed with the hailstones, than were
slain by the swords of the children of Israel,
10:12. Then Josue spoke to the Lord, in the day that he
delivered the Amorrhite in the sight of the children of
Israel, and he said before them: Move not, O sun, toward
Gabaon, nor thou, O moon, toward the valley of Ajalon.
10:13. And the sun and the moon stood still, till the
people revenged themselves of their enemies. Is not this
written in the book of the just? So the sun stood still in
the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down the space of
one day.
The book of the just... In Hebrew Jasher: an ancient book
long since lost.
10:14. There was not before, nor after, so long a day, the
Lord obeying the voice of a man, and fighting for Israel.
10:15. And Josue returned, with all Israel, into the camp
of Galgal.
10:16. For the five kings were fled, and had hid themselves
in a cave of the city of Maceda.
10:17. And it was told Josue, that the five kings were
found hid in a cave of the city of Maceda.
10:18. And he commanded them that were with him, saying:
Roll great stones to the mouth of the cave, and set careful
men to keep them shut up:
10:19. And stay you not, but pursue after the enemies, and
kill all the hindermost of them as they flee, and do not
suffer them whom the Lord God hath delivered into your
hands, to shelter themselves in their cities.
10:20. So the enemies being slain with a great slaughter,
and almost utterly consumed, they that were able to escape
from Israel, entered into fenced cities.
10:21. And all the army returned to Josue, in Maceda, where
the camp then was, in good health, and without the loss of
any one: and no man durst move his tongue against the
children of Israel.
10:22. And Josue gave orders, saying: Open the mouth of the
cave, and bring forth to me the five kings that lie hid
therein.
10:23. And the ministers did as they were commanded: and
they brought out to him the five kings out of the cave: the
king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of
Jerimoth, the king of Lachis, the king of Eglon.
10:24. And when they were brought out to him, he called all
the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the army that
were with him: Go, and set your feet on the necks of these
kings. And when they had gone, and put their feet upon the
necks of them lying under them,
10:25. He said again to them: Fear not, neither be ye
dismayed, take courage, and be strong: for so will the Lord
do to all your enemies, against whom you fight.
10:26. And Josue struck, and slew them, and hanged them
upon five gibbets; and they hung until the evening.
10:27. And when the sun was down, he commanded the soldiers
to take them down from the gibbets. And after they were
taken down, they cast them into the cave, where they had
lain hid, and put great stones at the mouth thereof, which
remain until this day.
10:28. The same day Josue took Maceda, and destroyed it
with the edge of the sword, and killed the king and all the
inhabitants thereof: he left not in it the least remains.
And he did to the king of Maceda, as he had done to the
king of Jericho.
10:29. And he passed from Maceda with all Israel to Lebna,
and fought against it:
10:30. And the Lord delivered it with the king thereof into
the hands of Israel: and they destroyed the city with the
edge of the sword, and all the inhabitants thereof. They
left not in it any remains. And they did to the king of
Lebna, as they had done to the king of Jericho.
10:31. From Lebna he passed unto Lachis, with all Israel:
and investing it with his army, besieged it.
10:32. And the Lord delivered Lachis into the hands of
Israel, and he took it the following day, and put it to the
sword, and every soul that was in it, as he had done to
Lebna.
10:33. At that time Horam, king of Gazer, came up to
succour Lachis: and Josue slew him with all his people so
as to leave none alive.
10:34. And he passed from Lachis to Eglon, and surrounded
it,
10:35. And took it the same day: and put to the sword all
the souls that were in it, according to all that he had
done to Lachis.
10:36. He went up also with all Israel from Eglon to
Hebron, and fought against it:
10:37. Took it, and destroyed it with the edge of the
sword: the king also thereof, and all the towns of that
country, and all the souls that dwelt in it: he left not
therein any remains: as he had done to Eglon, so did he
also to Hebron, putting to the sword all that he found in
it.
The king... Viz., the new king, who succeeded him that was
slain, ver. 26.
10:38. Returning from thence to Dabir,
10:39. He took it, and destroyed it: the king also thereof,
and all the towns round about, he destroyed with the edge
of the sword: he left not in it any remains: as he had done
to Hebron and Lebna, and to their kings, so did he to
Dabir, and to the king thereof.
10:40. So Josue conquered all the country of the hills, and
of the south, and of the plain, and of Asedoth, with their
kings: he left not any remains therein, but slew all that
breathed, as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded
him.
Any remains therein, but slew, etc... God ordered these
people to be utterly destroyed, in punishment of their
manifold abomination; and that they might not draw the
Israelites into the like sins.
10:41. From Cadesbarne even to Gaza. All the land of Gosen
even to Gabaon,
10:42. And all their kings, and their lands he took and
wasted at one onset: for the Lord the God of Israel fought
for him.
10:43. And he returned with all Israel to the place of the
camp in Galgal.
Josue Chapter 11
The kings of the north are overthrown: the whole country is
taken.
11:1. And when Jabin king of Asor had heard these things,
he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Semeron,
and to the king of Achsaph:
11:2. And to the kings of the north, that dwelt in the
mountains and in the plains over against the south side of
Ceneroth, and in the levels and the countries of Dor by the
sea side:
11:3. To the Chanaanites also on the east and on the west,
and the Amorrhite, and the Hethite, and the Pherezite, and
the Jebusite in the mountains: to the Hevite also who dwelt
at the foot of Hermon in the land of Maspha.
11:4. And they all came out with their troops, a people
exceeding numerous as the sand that is on the sea shore,
their horses also and chariots a very great multitude,
11:5. And all these kings assembled together at the waters
of Merom, to fight against Israel.
11:6. And the Lord said to Josue: Fear them not: for to
morrow at this same hour I will deliver all these to be
slain in the sight of Israel: thou shalt hamstring their
horses, and thou shalt burn their chariots with fire.
Hamstring their horses, and burn their chariots with fire,
etc... God so ordained, that his people might not trust in
chariots and horses, but in him.
11:7. And Josue came, and all the army with him, against
them to the waters of Merom on a sudden, and fell upon
them.
11:8. And the Lord delivered them into the hands of Israel.
And they defeated them, and chased them as far as the great
Sidon and the waters of Maserophot, and the field of
Masphe, which is on the east thereof. He slew them all, so
as to leave no remains of them:
11:9. And he did as the Lord had commanded him, he
hamstringed their horses and burned their chariots.
11:10. And presently turning back he took Asor: and slew
the king thereof with the sword. Now Asor of old was the
head of all these kingdoms.
11:11. And he cut off all the souls that abode there: he
left not in it any remains, but utterly destroyed all, and
burned the city itself with fire.
11:12. And he took and put to the sword and destroyed all
the cities round about, and their kings, as Moses the
servant of God had commanded him.
11:13. Except the cities that were on hills and high
places, the rest Israel burned: only Asor that was very
strong he consumed with fire.
11:14. And the children of Israel divided among themselves
all the spoil of these cities and the cattle, killing all
the men.
11:15. As the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, so did
Moses command Josue, and he accomplished all: he left not
one thing undone of all the commandments which the Lord had
commanded Moses.
11:16. So Josue took all the country of the hills, and of
the south, and the land of Gosen, and the plains and the
west country, and the mountain of Israel, and the plains
thereof:
11:17. And part of the mountain that goeth up to Seir as
far as Baalgad, by the plain of Libanus under mount Hermon:
all their kings he took, smote and slew.
11:18. Josue made war a long time against these kings.
A long time... Seven years, as appears from chap. 14.10.
11:19. There was not a city that delivered itself to the
children of Israel, except the Hevite, who dwelt in Gabaon:
for he took all by fight.
11:20. For it was the sentence of the Lord, that their
hearts should be hardened, and they should fight against
Israel, and fall, and should not deserve any clemency, and
should be destroyed as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Hardened... This hardening of their hearts, was their
having no thought of yielding or submitting: which was a
sentence or judgment of God upon them in punishment of
their enormous crimes.
11:21. At that time Josue came and cut off the Enancims
from the mountains, from Hebron, and Dabir, and Anab, and
from all the mountain of Juda and Israel, and destroyed
their cities.
11:22. He left not any of the stock of the Enacims, in the
land of the children of Israel: except the cities of Gaza,
and Geth, and Azotus, in which alone they were left.
11:23. So Josue took all the land, as the Lord spoke to
Moses, and delivered it in possession to the children of
Israel, according to their divisions and tribes. And the
land rested from wars.
Josue Chapter 12
A list of the kings slain by Moses and Josue,
12:1. These are the kings, whom the children of Israel slew
and possessed their land beyond the Jordan towards the
rising of the sun, from the torrent Arnon unto mount
Hermon, and all the east country that looketh towards the
wilderness.
12:2. Sehon king of the Amorrhites, who dwelt in Hesebon,
and had dominion from Aroer, which is seated upon the bank
of the torrent Arnon, and of the middle part in the valley,
and of half Galaad, as far as the torrent Jaboc, which is
the border of the children of Ammon.
12:3. And from the wilderness, to the sea of Ceneroth
towards the east, and to the sea of the wilderness, which
is the most salt sea, on the east side by the way that
leadeth to Bethsimoth: and on the south side that lieth
under Asedoth, Phasga.
12:4. The border of Og the king of Basan, of the remnant of
the Raphaims who dwelt in Astaroth, and in Edrai, and had
dominion in mount Hermon, and in Salecha, and in all Basan,
unto the borders
12:5. Of Gessuri and Machati, and of half Galaad: the
borders of Sehon the king of Hesebon.
12:6. Moses the servant of the Lord, and the children of
Israel slew them, and Moses delivered their land in
possession to the Rubenites, and Gadites, and the half
tribe of Manasses.
12:7. These are the kings of the land, whom Josue and the
children of Israel slew beyond the Jordan on the west side
from Baalgad in the field of Libanus, unto the mount, part
of which goeth up into Seir: and Josue delivered it in
possession to the tribes of Israel, to every one their
divisions,
12:8. As well in the mountains as in the plains and the
champaign countries. In Asedoth, and in the wilderness, and
in the south was the Hethite and the Amorrhite, the
Chanaanite and the Pherezite, the Hevite and the Jebusite.
12:9. The king of Jericho one: the king of Hai, which is on
the side of Bethel, one:
12:10. The king of Jerusalem one, the king of Hebron one,
12:11. The king of Jerimoth one, thee king of Lachis one,
12:12. The king of Eglon one, the king of Gazer one,
12:13. The king of Dabir one, the king of Gader one,
12:14. The king of Herma one, the king of Hered one,
12:15. The king of Lebna one, the king of Odullam one,
12:16. The king of Maceda one, the king of Bethel one,
12:17. The king of Taphua one, the king of Opher one,
12:18. The king of Aphec one, the king of Saron one,
12:19. The king of Madon one, the king of Asor one,
12:20. The king of Semeron one, the king of Achsaph one,
12:21. The king of Thenac one, the king of Mageddo one,
12:22. Thee king of Cades one, the king of Jachanan of
Carmel one,
12:23. The king of Dor, and of the province of Dor one, the
king of the nations of Galgal one,
12:24. The king of Thersa one: all the kings thirty and
one.
Josue Chapter 13
God commandeth Josue to divide the land: the possessions of
Ruben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasses, beyond the
Jordan.
13:1. Josue was old, and far advanced in years, and the
Lord said to him: Thou art grown old, and advanced in age,
and there is a very large country left, which is not yet
divided by lot:
Josue was old, and far advanced in years... He was then
about one hundred and one years old.-And their is a very
large country left, which is not yet divided by lot... Not
yet possessed by the children of Israel.
13:2. To wit, all Galilee, Philistia, and all Gessuri.
13:3. From the troubled river, that watereth Egypt, unto
the border of Accaron northward: the land of Chanaan, which
is divided among the lords of the Philistines, the Gazites,
the Azotians, the Ascalonites, the Gethites, and the
Accronites.
13:4. And on the south side are the Hevites, all the land
of Chanaan, and Maara of the Sidonians as far as Apheca,
and the borders of the Amorrhite,
13:5. And his confines. The country also of Libanus towards
the east from Baalgad under mount Hermon to the entering
into Emath.
13:6. Of all that dwell in the mountains from Libanus, to
the waters of Maserephoth, and all the Sidonians. I am he
that will cut them off from before the face of the children
of Israel. So let their land come in as a part of the
inheritance of Israel, as I have commanded thee.
13:7. And now divide the land in possession to the nine
tribes, and to the half tribe of Manasses,
13:8. With whom Ruben and Gad have possessed the land,
which Moses the servant of the Lord delivered to them
beyond the river Jordan, on the east side.
With whom... That is, with the other half of that same
tribe.
13:9. From Aroer, which is upon the bank of the torrent
Arnon, and in the midst of the valley and all the plains of
Medaba, as far as Dibon:
13:10. And all the cities of Sehon, king of the Amorrhites,
who reigned in Hesebon, unto the borders of the children of
Ammon.
13:11. And Galaad, and the borders of Gessuri and Machati,
and all mount Hermon, and all Basan as far as Salecha,
13:12. All the kingdom of Og in Basan, who reigned in
Astaroth and Edrai, he was of the remains of the Raphaims:
and Moses overthrew and destroyed them.
13:13. And the children of Israel would not destroy Gessuri
and Machati and they have dwelt in the midst of Israel,
until this present day.
13:14. But to the tribe of Levi he gave no possession: but
the sacrifices and victims of thee Lord God of Israel, are
his inheritance, as he spoke to him.
13:15. And Moses gave a possession to the children of Ruben
according to their kindreds.
13:16. And their border was from Aroer, which is on the
bank of the torrent Arnon, and in the midst of the valley
of the same torrent: all the plain, that leadeth to Medaba,
13:17. And Hesebon, and all their villages, which are in
the plains. Dibon also, and Bamothbaal, and the town of
Baalmaon,
13:18. And Jassa, and Cidimoth, and Mephaath,
13:19. And Cariathaim, and Sabama, and Sarathasar in the
mountain of the valley.
13:20. Bethphogor and Asedoth, Phasga and Bethiesimoth,
13:21. And all the cities of the plain, and all the
kingdoms of Sehon king of the Amorrhites, that reigned in
Hesebon, whom Moses slew with the princes of Madian: Hevi,
and Recem, and Sur and Hur, and Rebe, dukes of Sehon
inhabitants of the land.
The princes of Madian... It appears from hence that these
were subjects of king Sehon: they are said to have been
slain with him, that is, about the same time, but not in
the same battle.
13:22. Balaam also the son of Beor the soothsayer, the
children of Israel slew with the sword among the rest that
were slain.
13:23. And the river Jordan was the border of the children
of Ruben. This is the possession of the Rubenites, by their
kindreds, of cities and villages.
13:24. And Moses gave to the tribe of Gad and to his
children by their kindreds a possession, of which this is
the division.
13:25. The border of Jaser, and all the cities of Galaad,
and half the land of the children of Ammon: as far as Aroer
which is over against Rabba:
13:26. And from Hesebon unto Ramoth, Masphe and Betonim:
and from Manaim unto the borders of Dabir.
13:27. And in the valley Betharan and Bethnemra, and
Socoth, and Saphon the other part of the kingdom of Sehon
king of Hesebon: the limit of this also is the Jordan, as
far as the uttermost part of the sea of Cenereth beyond the
Jordan on the east side,
13:28. This is the possession of the children of Gad by
their families, their cities, and villages.
13:29. He gave also to the half tribe of Manasses and his
children possession according to their kindreds,
13:30. The beginning whereof is this: from Manaim all
Basan, and all the kingdoms of Og king of Basan, and all
the villages of Jair, which are in Basan, threescore towns.
13:31. And half Galaad, and Astaroth, and Edrai, cities of
the kingdom of Og in Basan: to the children of Machir, the
son of Manasses, to one half of the children of Machir
according to their kindreds.
13:32. This possession Moses divided in the plains of Moab,
beyond the Jordan, over against Jericho on the east side,
13:33. But to the tribe of Levi he gave no possession:
because the Lord the God of Israel himself is their
possession, as he spoke to them.
Josue Chapter 14
Caleb's petition; Hebron is given to him and to his seed.
14:1. This is what the children of Israel possessed in the
land of Chanaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Josue the
son of Nun, and the princes of the families by the tribes
of Israel gave to them.
14:2. Dividing all by lot, as the Lord had commanded the
hand of Moses, to the nine tribes, and the half tribe.
14:3. For to two tribes and a half Moses had given
possession beyond the Jordan: besides the Levites, who
received no land among their brethren:
14:4. But in their place succeeded the children of Joseph
divided into two tribes, of Manasses and Ephraim: neither
did the Levites receive other portion of land, but cities
to dwell in, and their suburbs to feed their beasts and
flocks.
Hebron belonged, etc... All the country thereabouts,
depending on Hebron, was given to Caleb; but the city
itself with the suburbs, was one of those that were given
to the priests to dwell in.
14:5. As the Lord had commanded Moses so did the children
of Israel, and they divided the land.
14:6. Then the children of Juda came to Josue in Galgal,
and Caleb the son of Jephone the Cenezite spoke to him:
Thou knowest what the Lord spoke to Moses the man of God
concerning me and thee in Cadesbarne.
14:7. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the
Lord sent me from Cadesbarne, to view the land, and I
brought him word again as to me seemed true,
14:8. But my brethren, that had gone up with me,
discouraged the heart of the people: and I nevertheless
followed the Lord my God.
14:9. And Moses swore in that day, saying: The land which
thy foot hath trodden upon shall be thy possession, and thy
children for ever, because thou hast followed the Lord my
God.
14:10. The Lord therefore hath granted me life, as he
promised until this present day, It is forty and five years
since the Lord spoke this word to Moses, when Israel
journeyed through the wilderness: this day I am eighty-five
years old,
14:11. As strong as I was at that time when I was sent to
view the land: the strength of that time continueth in me
until this day, as well to fight as to march.
14:12. Give me therefore this mountain, which the Lord
promised, in thy hearing also, wherein are the Enacims, and
cities great and strong: if so be the Lord will be with me,
and I shall be able to destroy them, as he promised me.
14:13. And Josue blessed him, and gave him Hebron in
possession.
14:14. And from that time Hebron belonged to Caleb the son
of Jephone the Cenezite, until this present day: because he
followed the Lord the God of Israel.
14:15. The name of Hebron before was called Cariath-Arbe:
Adam the greatest among the Enacims was laid there and the
land rested from wars.
Josue Chapter 15
The borders of the lot of Juda. Caleb's portion and
conquest. The cities of Juda.
15:1. Now the lot of the children of Juda by their kindreds
was this: From the frontier of Edom, to the desert of Sin
southward, and to the uttermost part of the south coast.
15:2. Its beginning was from the top of the most salt sea,
and from the bay thereof, that looketh to the south.
15:3. And it goeth out towards the ascent of the Scorpion,
and passeth on to Sina: and ascendeth into Cadesbarne, and
reacheth into Esron, going up to Addar, and compassing
Carcaa.
15:4. And from thence passing along into Asemona, and
reaching the torrent of Egypt: and the bounds thereof shall
be the great sea, this shall be the limit of the south
coast.
15:5. But on the east side the beginning shall be the most
salt sea even to the end of the Jordan: and towards the
north from the bay of the sea unto the same river Jordan.
15:6. And the border goeth up into Beth-Hagla, and passeth
by the north into Beth-Araba: going up to the stone of Boen
the son of Ruben.
15:7. And reaching as far as the borders of Debara from the
valley of Achor, and so northward looking towards Galgal,
which is opposite to the ascent of Adommin, on the south
side of the torrent, and the border passeth the waters that
are called the fountain of the sun: and the goings out
thereof shall be at the fountain Rogel.
15:8. And it goeth up by the valley of the son of Ennom on
the side of the Jebusite towards the south, the same is
Jerusalem: and thence ascending to the top of the mountain,
which is over against Geennom to the west in the end of the
valley of Raphaim, northward.
15:9. And it passeth on from the top of the mountain to the
fountain of the water of Nephtoa: and reacheth to the towns
of mount Ephron: and it bendeth towards Baala, which is
Cariathiarim, that is to say, the city of the woods.
15:10. And it compasseth from Baala westward unto mount
Seir: and passeth by the side of mount Jarim to the north
into Cheslon: and goeth down into Bethsames, and passeth
into Thamna.
15:11. And reacheth northward to a part of Accaron at the
side: and bendeth to Sechrona, and passeth mount Baala: and
cometh into Jebneel, and is bounded westward with the great
sea.
15:12. These are the borders round about of the children of
Juda in their kindreds.
15:13. But to Caleb the son of Jephone he gave a portion in
the midst of the children of Juda, as the Lord had
commanded him: Cariath-Arbe the father of Enac, which is
Hebron.
15:14. And Caleb destroyed out of it the three sons of
Enac, Sesai and Ahiman, and Tholmai of the race of Enac.
15:15. And going up from thence he came to the inhabitants
of Dabir, which before was called Cariath-Sepher, that is
to say, the city of letters.
15:16. And Caleb said: He that shall smite Cariath-Sepher,
and take it, I will give him Axa my daughter to wife.
15:17. And Othoniel the son of Cenez, the younger brother
of Caleb, took it: and he gave him Axa his daughter to
wife.
15:18. And as they were going together, she was moved by
her husband to ask a field of her father, and she sighed as
she sat on her ass. And Caleb said to her: What aileth
thee?
15:19. But she answered: Give me a blessing: thou hast
given me a southern and dry land, give me also a land that
Is watered. And Caleb gave her the upper and the nether
watery ground.
15:20. This is the possession of the tribe of the children
of Juda by their kindreds.
15:21. And the cities from the uttermost parts of the
children of Juda by the borders of Edom to the south, were
Cabseel and Eder and Jagur,
15:22. And Cina and Dimona and Adada,
15:23. And Cades and Asor and Jethnam,
15:24. Ziph and Telem and Baloth,
15:25. New Asor and Carioth, Hesron, which is Asor.
15:26. Amam, Sama and Molada,
15:27. And Asergadda and Hassemon and Bethphelet,
15:28. And Hasersual and Bersabee and Baziothia,
15:29. And Baala and Jim and Esem,
15:30. And Eltholad and Cesil and Harma,
15:31. And Siceleg and Medemena and Sensenna,
15:32. Lebaoth and Selim and Aen and Remmon: all the cities
twenty-nine, and their villages.
15:33. But in the plains: Estaol and Sarea and Asena,
15:34. And Zanoe and Engannim and Taphua and Enaim,
15:35. And Jerimoth and Adullam, Socho and Azeca,
15:36. And Saraim and Adithaim and Gedera and Gederothaim:
fourteen cities, and their villages.
15:37. Sanan and Hadassa and Magdalgad,
15:38. Delean and Masepha and Jecthel,
15:39. Lachis and Bascath and Eglon,
15:40. Chebbon and Leheman and Cethlis,
15:41. And Gideroth and Bethdagon and Naama and Maceda:
sixteen cities, and their villages.
15:42. Labana and Ether and Asan,
15:43. Jephtha and Esna and Nesib,
15:44. And Ceila and Achzib and Maresa: nine cities, and
their villages.
15:45. Accaron with the towns and villages thereof.
15:46. From Accaron even to the sea: all places that lie
towards Azotus and the villages thereof.
15:47. Azotus with its towns and villages. Gaza with its
towns and villages, even to the torrent of Egypt, and the
great sea that is the border thereof.
15:48. And in the mountain Samir and Jether and Socoth,
15:49. And Danna and Cariath-senna, this is Dabir:
15:50. Anab and Istemo and Anim,
15:51. Gosen and Olon and Gilo: eleven cities and their
villages.
15:52. Arab and Ruma and Esaan,
15:53. And Janum and Beththaphua and Apheca,
15:54. Athmatha and Cariath-Arbe, this is Hebron and Sior:
nine cities and their villages.
15:55. Maon and Carmel and Ziph and Jota,
15:56. Jezrael and Jucadam and Zanoe,
15:57. Accain, Gabaa and Thamna: ten cities and their
villages.
15:58. Halhul, and Bessur, and Gedor,
15:59. Mareth, and Bethanoth, and Eltecon: six cities and
their villages.
15:60. Cariathbaal, the same is Cariathiarim the city of
woods, and Arebba: two cities and their villages.
15:61. In the desert Betharaba, Meddin and Sachacha,
15:62. And Nebsan, and the city of salt, and Engaddi: six
cities and their villages.
15:63. But the children of Juda could not destroy the
Jebusite that dwelt in Jerusalem: and the Jebusite dwelt
with the children of Juda in Jerusalem until this present
day.
Josue Chapter 16
The lot of the sons of Joseph. The borders of the tribe of
Ephraim.
16:1. And the lot of the sons of Joseph fell from the
Jordan over against Jericho and the waters thereof, on the
east: the wilderness which goeth up from Jericho to the
mountain of Bethel:
16:2. And goeth out from Bethel to Luza: and passeth the
border of Archi, to Ataroth,
16:3. And goeth down westward, by the border of Jephleti,
unto the borders of Beth-horon the nether, and to Gazer:
and the countries of it are ended by the great sea:
16:4. And Manasses and Ephraim the children of Joseph
possessed it.
16:5. And the border of the children of Ephraim was
according to their kindreds: and their possession towards
the east was Ataroth-addar unto Beth-horon the upper.
16:6. And the confines go out unto the sea: but Machmethath
looketh to the north, and it goeth round the borders
eastward into Thanath-selo: and passeth along on the east
side to Janoe.
Looketh to the north, etc... The meaning is, that the
border went towards the north, by Machmethath; and then
turned eastward to Thanath-selo.
16:7. And it goeth down from Janoe into Ataroth and
Naaratha: and it cometh to Jericho, and goeth out to the
Jordan.
16:8. From Taphua it passeth on towards the sea into the
valley of reeds, and the goings out thereof are at the most
salt sea. This is the possession of the tribe of the
children of Ephraim by their families.
16:9. And there were cities with their villages separated
for the children of Ephraim in the midst of the possession
of the children of Manasses.
16:10. And the children of Ephraim slew not the Chanaanite,
who dwelt in Gazer: and the Chanaanite dwelt in the midst
of Ephraim until this day, paying tribute.
Josue Chapter 17
The lot of the half tribe of Manasses.
17:1. And this lot fell to the tribe of Manasses for he is
the firstborn of Joseph to Machir the firstborn of Manasses
the father of Galaad, who was a warlike man, and had for
possession Galaad and Basan.
17:2. And to the rest of the children of Manasses according
to their families: to the children of Abiezer, and to the
children of Helec, and to the children of Esriel, and to
the children of Sechem, and to the children of Hepher, and
to the children of Semida: these are the male children of
Manasses the son of Joseph, by their kindreds.
17:3. But Salphaad the son of Hepher the son of Galaad the
son of Machir the son of Manasses had no sons, but only
daughters: whose names are these, Maala and Noa and Hegla
and Melcha and Thersa.
17:4. And they came in the presence of Eleazar the priest
and of Josue the son of Nun, and of the princes, saying:
The Lord commanded by the hand of Moses, that a possession
should be given us in the midst of our brethren. And he
gave them according to the commandment of the Lord a
possession amongst the brethren of their father.
17:5. And there fell ten portions to Manasses, beside the
land of Galaad and Basan beyond the Jordan.
17:6. For the daughters of Manasses possessed inheritance
in the midst of his sons. And the land of Galaad fell to
the lot of the rest of the children of Manasses.
17:7. And the border of Manasses was from Aser, Machmethath
which looketh towards Sichem: and it goeth out on the right
hand by the inhabitants of the fountain of Taphua.
17:8. For the lot of Manasses took in the land of Taphua,
which is on the borders of Manasses, and belongs to the
children of Ephraim.
17:9. And the border goeth down to the valley of the reeds,
to the south of the torrent of the cities of Ephraim, which
are in the midst of the cities of Manasses: the border of
Manasses is on the north side of the torrent, and the
outgoings of it are at the sea:
17:10. So that the possession of Ephraim is on the south,
and on the north that of Manasses, and the sea is the
border of both, and they are joined together in the tribe
of Aser on the north, and in the tribe of Issachar on the
east.
17:11. And the inheritance of Manasses in Issachar and in
Aser, was Bethsan and its villages, and Jeblaam with its
villages, and the inhabitants of Dor, with the towns
thereof: the inhabitants also of Endor with the villages
thereof: and in like manner the inhabitants of Thenac with
the villages thereof: and the inhabitants of Mageddo with
their villages, and the third part of the city of Nopheth.
17:12. Neither could the children of Manasses overthrow
these cities, but the Chanaanite began to dwell in his
land.
17:13. But after that the children of Israel were grown
strong, they subdued the Chanaanites, and made them their
tributaries, and they did not kill them.
17:14. And the children of Joseph spoke to Josue, and said:
Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to
possess, whereas I am of so great a multitude, and the Lord
hath blessed me?
17:15. And Josue said to them: If thou be a great people,
go up into the woodland, and cut down room for thyself in
the land of the Pherezite and the Raphaims: because the
possession of mount Ephraim is too narrow for thee.
17:16. And the children of Joseph answered him: We cannot
go up to the mountains, for the Chanaanites that dwell in
the low lands, wherein are situate Bethsan with its towns,
and Jezrael in the midst of the valley, have chariots of
iron.
17:17. And Josue said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim
and Manasses: Thou art a great people, and of great
strength, thou shalt not have one lot only:
17:18. But thou shalt pass to the mountain, and shalt cut
down the wood, and make thyself room to dwell in: and mayst
proceed farther, when thou hast destroyed the Chanaanites,
who as thou sayest have iron chariots, and are very strong.
Josue Chapter 18
Surveyors are sent to divide the rest of the land into
seven tribes. The lot of Benjamin.
18:1. And all the children of Israel assembled together in
Silo, and there they set up the tabernacle of the
testimony, and the land was subdued before them.
18:2. But there remained seven tribes of the children of
Israel, which as yet had not received their possessions.
18:3. And Josue said to them: How long are you indolent and
slack, and go not in to possess the land which the Lord the
God of your fathers hath given you?
18:4. Choose of every tribe three men, that I may send
them, and they may go and compass the land, and mark it out
according to the number of each multitude: and bring back
to me what they have marked out.
18:5. Divide to yourselves the land into seven parts: let
Juda be in his bounds on the south side, and the house of
Joseph on the north.
18:6. The land in the midst between these mark ye out into
seven parts; and you shall come hither to me, that I may
cast lots for you before the Lord your God.
The land in the midst between these mark ye out into seven
parts... That is to say, the rest of the land, which is not
already assigned to Juda or Joseph.
18:7. For the Levites have no part among you, but the
priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance. And Gad and
Ruben, and the half tribe of Manasses have already received
their possessions beyond the Jordan eastward: which Moses
the servant of the Lord gave them.
18:8. And when the men were risen up, to go to mark out the
land, Josue commanded them saying: Go round the land and
mark it out, and return to me: that I may cast lots for you
before the Lord in Silo.
18:9. So they went and surveying it divided it into seven
parts, writing them down in a book. And they returned to
Josue, to the camp in Silo.
18:10. And he cast lots before the Lord in Silo, and
divided the land to the children of Israel into seven
parts.
18:11. And first came up the lot of the children of
Benjamin by their families, to possess the land between the
children of Juda, and the children of Joseph.
18:12. And their border northward was from the Jordan:
going along by the side of Jericho on the north side, and
thence going up westward to the mountains, and reaching to
the wilderness of Bethaven,
18:13. And passing along southward by Luza, the same is
Bethel, and it goeth down into Ataroth-addar to the
mountain, that is on the south of the nether Beth-horon.
18:14. And it bendeth thence going round towards the sea,
south of the mountain that looketh towards Beth-horon to
the southwest: and the outgoings thereof are into
Cariathbaal, which is called also Cariathiarim, a city of
the children of Juda This is their coast towards the sea,
westward.
18:15. But on the south side the border goeth out from part
of Cariathiarim towards the sea, and cometh to the fountain
of the waters of Nephtoa.
18:16. And it goeth down to that part of the mountain that
looketh on the valley of the children of Ennom: and is over
against the north quarter in the furthermost part of the
valley of Raphaim, and it goeth down into Geennom (that is
the valley of Ennom) by the side of the Jebusite to the
south: and cometh to the fountain of Rogel,
18:17. Passing thence to the north, and going out to
Ensemes, that is to say, the fountain of the sun:
18:18. And It passeth along to the hills that are over
against the ascent of Adommim: and it goeth down to
Abenboen, that is, the stone of Boen the son of Ruben: and
it passeth on the north side to the champaign countries;
and goeth down Into the plain,
18:19. And it passeth by Bethhagla northward: and the
outgoings thereof are towards the north of the most salt
sea at the south end of the Jordan.
18:20. Which is the border of it on the east side. This is
the possession of the children of Benjamin by their borders
round about, and their families.
18:21. And their cities were, Jericho and Bethhagla and
Vale-Casis,
18:22. Betharaba and Samaraim and Bethel,
18:23. And Avim and Aphara and Ophera,
18:24. The town Emona and Ophni and Gabee: twelve cities,
and their villages.
18:25. Gabam and Rama and Beroth,
18:26. And Mesphe, and Caphara, and Amosa,
18:27. And Recem, Jarephel, and Tharela,
18:28. And Sela, Eleph and Jebus, which is Jerusalem,
Gabaath and Cariath: fourteen cities, and their villages.
This is the possession of the children of Benjamin by their
families.
Josue Chapter 19
The lots of the tribes of Simeon, Zabulon, Issachar, Aser,
Nephtali and Dan. A city is given to Josue.
19:1. And the second lot came forth for the children of
Simeon by their kindreds: and their inheritance was
19:2. In the midst of the possession of the children of
Juda: Bersabee and Sabee and Molada
19:3. And Hasersual, Bala and Asem,
19:4. And Eltholad, Bethul and Harma,
19:5. And Siceleg and Bethmarchaboth and Hasersusa,
19:6. And Bethlebaoth and Sarohen: thirteen cities, and
their villages.
19:7. And Remmon and Athor and Asan: four cities, and their
villages.
19:8. And all the villages round about these cities to
Baalath Beer Ramath to the south quarter. This is the
inheritance of the children of Simeon according to their
kindreds,
19:9. In the possession and lot of the children of Juda:
because it was too great, and therefore the children of
Simeon had their possession in the midst of their
inheritance.
19:10. And the third lot fell to the children of Zabulon by
their kindreds: and the border of their possession was unto
Sarid.
19:11. And It went up from the sea and from Merala, and
came to Debbaseth: as far as the torrent, which is over
against Jeconam.
19:12. And it returneth from Sarid eastward to the borders
of Ceseleththabor: and it goeth out to Dabereth and
ascendeth towards Japhie.
19:13. And it passeth along from thence to the east side of
Gethhepher and Thacasin: and goeth out to Remmon, Amthar
and Noa.
19:14. And it turneth about to the north of Hanathon: and
the outgoings thereof are the valley of Jephtahel,
19:15. And Cateth and Naalol and Semeron and Jedala and
Bethlehem: twelve cities and their villages.
19:16. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children
of Zabulon by their kindreds, the cities and their
villages.
19:17. The fourth lot came out to Issachar by their
kindreds.
19:18. And his inheritance was Jezrael and Casaloth and
Sunem,
19:19. And Hapharaim and Seon and Anaharath,
19:20. And Rabboth and Cesion, Abes,
19:21. And Rameth and Engannim and Enhadda and Bethpheses.
19:22. And the border thereof cometh to Thabor and Sehesima
and Bethsames: and the outgoings thereof shall be at the
Jordan: sixteen cities, and their villages.
19:23. This is the possession of the sons of Issachar by
their kindreds, the cities and their villages.
19:24. And the fifth lot fell to the tribe of the children
of Aser by their kindreds:
19:25. And their border was Halcath and Chali and Beten and
Axaph,
19:26. And Elmelech and Amaad and Messal: and it reacheth
to Carmel by the sea and Sihor and Labanath,
19:27. And it returneth towards the east to Bethdagon: and
passeth along to Zabulon and to the valley of Jephthael
towards the north to Bethemec and Nehiel. And it goeth out
to the left side of Cabul,
19:28. And to Abaran and Rohob and Hamon and Cana, as far
as the great Sidon.
19:29. And it returneth to Horma to the strong city of
Tyre, and to Hosa: and the outgoings thereof shall be at
the sea from the portion of Achziba:
19:30. And Amma and Aphec and Rohob: twenty-two cities, and
their villages.
19:31. This is the possession of the children of Aser by
their kindreds, and the cities and their villages.
19:32. The sixth lot came out to the sons of Nephtali by
their families:
19:33. And the border began from Heleph and Elon to
Saananim, and Adami, which is Neceb, and Jebnael even to
Lecum:
19:34. And the border returneth westward to Azanotthabor,
and goeth out from thence to Hucuca, and passeth along to
Zabulon southward, and to Aser westward, and to Juda upon
the Jordan towards the rising of the sun.
19:35. And the strong cities are Assedim, Ser, and Emath,
and Reccath and Cenereth,
19:36. And Edema and Arama, Asor,
19:37. And Cedes and Edri, Enhasor,
19:38. And Jeron and Magdalel, Horem, and Bethanath and
Bethsames: nineteen cities, and their villages.
19:39. This is the possession of the tribe of the children
of Nephtali by their kindreds, the cities and their
villages.
19:40. The seventh lot came out to the tribe of the
children of Dan by their families
19:41. And the border of their possession was Saraa and
Esthaol, and Hirsemes, that is, the city of the sun,
19:42. Selebin and Aialon and Jethela,
19:43. Elon and Themna and Acron,
19:44. Elthece, Gebbethon and Balaath,
19:45. And Juda and Bane and Barach and Gethremmon:
19:46. And Mejarcon and Arecon, with the border that
looketh towards Joppe,
19:47. And is terminated there. And the children of Dan
went up and fought against Lesem, and took it: and they put
it to the sword, and possessed it, and dwelt in it, calling
the name of it Lesem Dan, by the name of Dan their father.
19:48. This is the possession of the tribe of the sons of
Dan, by their kindreds, the cities and their villages.
19:49. And when he had made an end of dividing the land by
lot to each one by their tribes, the children of Israel
gave a possession to Josue the son of Nun in the midst of
them,
19:50. According to the commandment of the Lord, the city
which he asked for, Thamnath Saraa, in mount Ephraim: and
he built up the city, and dwelt in it.
19:51. These are the possessions which Eleazar the priest,
and Josue the son of Nun, and the princes of the families,
and of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed by
lot in Silo, before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle
of the testimony, and they divided the land.
Josue Chapter 20
The cities of refuge are appointed for casual manslaughter.
20:1. And the Lord spoke to Josue, saying: Speak to
children of Israel and say to them:
20:2. Appoint cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you by
the hand of Moses:
20:3. That whosoever shall kill a person unawares may flee
to them, and may escape the wrath of the kinsman, who is
the avenger of blood.
20:4. And when he shall flee to one of these cities: he
shall stand before the gate of the city, and shall speak to
the ancients of that city, such things as prove him
innocent: and so shall they receive him, and give him a
place to dwell in.
20:5. And when the avenger of blood shall pursue him, they
shall not deliver him into his hands, because he slew his
neighbour unawares, and is not proved to have been his
enemy two or three days before,
20:6. And he shall dwell in that city, till he stand before
judgment to give an account of his fact, and till the death
of the high priest, who shall be at that time: then shall
the manslayer return, and go into his own city and house
from whence he fled.
20:7. And they appointed Cedes in Galilee of mount
Nephtali, and Sichem in mount Ephraim, and Cariath-Arbe,
the same is Hebron in the mountain of Juda.
20:8. And beyond the Jordan to the east of Jericho, they
appointed Bosor, which is upon the plain of the wilderness
of the tribe of Ruben, and Ramoth in Galaad of the tribe of
Gad, and Gaulon in Basan of the tribe of Manasses.
20:9. These cities were appointed for all the children of
Israel, and for the strangers, that dwelt among them, that
whosoever had killed a person unawares might flee to them,
and not die by the hand of the kinsman, coveting to revenge
the blood that was shed, until he should stand before the
people to lay open his cause.
Josue Chapter 21
Cities with their suburbs are assigned for the priests and
Levites.
21:1. Then the princes of the families of Levi came to
Eleazar the priest, and to Josue the son of Nun, and to the
princes of the kindreds of all the tribes of the children
of Israel
21:2. And they spoke to them in Silo in the land of
Chanaan, and said: The Lord commanded by the hand of Moses,
that cities should be given us to dwell in, and their
suburbs to feed our cattle.
21:3. And the children of Israel gave out of their
possessions according to the commandment of the Lord,
cities and their suburbs.
21:4. And the lot came out for the family of Caath of the
children of Aaron the priest out of the tribes of Juda, and
of Simeon, and of Benjamin, thirteen cities.
21:5. And to the rest of the children of Caath, that is, to
thee Levites, who remained, out of the tribes of Ephraim,
and of Dan, and the half tribe of Manasses, ten cities.
21:6. And the lot came out to children of Gerson, that they
should take of the tribes of Issachar and of Aser and of
Nephtali, and of the half tribe of Manasses in Basan,
thirteen cities.
21:7. And to the sons of Merari by their kindreds, of the
tribes of Ruben and of Gad and of Zabulon, twelve cities.
21:8. And the children of Israel gave to the Levites the
cities and their suburbs, as the Lord commanded by the hand
of Moses, giving to every one by lot.
21:9. Of the tribes of the children of Juda and of Simeon
Josue gave cities: whose names are these,
21:10. To the sons of Aaron, of the families of Caath of
the race of Levi (for the first lot came out for them)
21:11. The city of Arbe the father of Enac, which is called
Hebron, in the mountain of Juda, and the suburbs thereof
round about.
21:12. But the fields and the villages thereof he had given
to Caleb the son of Jephone for his possession.
21:13. He gave therefore to the children of Aaron the
priest, Hebron a city of refuge, and the suburbs thereof,
and Lebna with the suburbs thereof,
21:14. And Jether and Estemo,
21:15. And Holon, and Dabir,
21:16. And Ain, and Jeta, and Bethsames, with their
suburbs: nine cities out of the two tribes, as hath been
said.
21:17. And out of the tribe of the children of Benjamin,
Gabaon, and Gabae,
21:18. And Anathoth and Almon, with, their suburbs: four
cities.
21:19. All the cities together of the children of Aaron the
priest, were thirteen, with their suburbs,
21:20. And to the rest of the families of the children of
Caath of the race of Levi was given this possession.
21:21. Of the tribe of Ephraim, Sichem one of the cities of
refuge, with the suburbs thereof in mount Ephraim, and
Gazer,
21:22. And Cibsaim, and Beth-horon, with their suburbs,
four cities.
21:23. And of he tribe of Dan, Eltheco and Gabathon,
21:24. And Aialon and Gethremmon, with their suburbs, four
cities.
21:25. And of the half tribe of Manasses, Thanac and
Gethremmon, with their suburbs, two cities.
21:26. All the cities were ten, with their suburbs, which
were given to the children of Caath, of the inferior
degree.
21:27. To the children of Gerson also of the race of Levi
out of the half tribe of Manasses, Gaulon in Basan, one of
the cities of refuge, and Bosra, with their suburbs, two
cities.
21:28. And of the tribe of Issachar, Cesion, and Dabereth,
21:29. And Jaramoth, and Engannim, with their suburbs, four
cities.
21:30. And of the tribe of Aser, Masal and Abdon,
21:31. And Helcath, and Rohob, with their suburbs, four
cities.
21:32. Of the tribe also of Nephtali, Cedes in Galilee, one
of the cities of refuge: and Hammoth Dor, and Carthan, with
their suburbs, three cities.
21:33. All the cities of the families of Gerson, were
thirteen, with their suburbs.
21:34. And to the children of Merari, Levites of the
inferior degree, by their families were given of the tribe
of Zabulon, Jecnam and Cartha,
21:35. And Damna and Naalol, four cities with their
suburbs.
21:36. Of the tribe of Ruben beyond the Jordan over against
Jericho, Bosor in the wilderness, one of the cities of
refuge, Misor and Jaser and Jethson and Mephaath, four
cities with their suburbs.
Four cities... There are no more, though there be five
names: for Misor is the same city as Bosor, which is to be
observed in some other places, where the number of names
exceeds the number of cities.
21:37. Of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Galaad, one of the
cities of refuge, and Manaim and Hesebon and Jaser, four
cities with their suburbs,
21:38. All the cities of the children of Merari by their
families and kindreds, were twelve.
21:39. So all the cities of the Levites within the
possession of the children of Israel were forty-eight,
21:40. With their suburbs, each distributed by the
families.
21:41. And the Lord God gave to Israel all the land that he
had sworn to give to their fathers: and they possessed it,
and dwelt in it.
21:42. And he gave them peace from all nations round about:
and none of their enemies durst stand against them, but
were brought under their dominion.
21:43. Not so much as one word, which he had promised to
perform unto them, was made void, but all came to pass.
Josue Chapter 22
The tribes of Ruben and Gad, and half the tribe of Manasses
return to their possessions. They build an altar by the
side of the Jordan, which alarms the other tribes. An
embassage is sent to them, to which they give a
satisfactory answer.
22:1. At the same time Josue called the Rubenites, and the
Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasses,
22:2. And said to them: You have done all that Moses the
servant of the Lord commanded you: you have also obeyed me
in all things,
22:3. Neither have you left your brethren this long time,
until this present day, keeping the commandment of the Lord
your God.
22:4. Therefore as the Lord your God hath given your
brethren rest and peace, as he promised: return, and go to
your dwellings, and to the land of your possession, which
Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan:
22:5. Yet so that you observe attentively, and in work
fulfil the commandment and the law which Moses the servant
of the Lord commanded you: that you love the Lord your God,
and walk in all his ways, and keep all his commandments,
and cleave to him, and serve him with all your heart, and
with all your soul.
22:6. And Josue blessed them, and sent them away, and they
returned to their dwellings.
22:7. Now to half the tribe of Manasses, Moses had given a
possession in Basan: and therefore to the half that
remained, Josue gave a lot among the rest of their brethren
beyond the Jordan to the west. And when he sent them away
to their dwellings and had blessed them,
22:8. He said to them: With much substance and riches, you
return to your settlements, with silver and gold, brass and
iron, and variety of raiment: divide the prey of your
enemies with your brethren.
22:9. So the children of Ruben, and the children of Gad,
and the half tribe of Manasses returned, and parted from
the children of Israel in Silo, which is in Chanaan, to go
into Galaad the land of their possession, which they had
obtained according to the commandment of the Lord by the
hand of Moses.
22:10. And when they were come to banks of the Jordan, in
the land of Chanaan, they built an altar immensely great
near the Jordan.
22:11. And when the children of Israel had heard of it, and
certain messengers brought them an account that the
children of Ruben, and of Gad, and the half tribe of
Manasses had built an altar in the land of Chanaan, upon
the banks of the Jordan, over against the children of
Israel:
22:12. They all assembled in Silo, to go up and fight
against them.
22:13. And in the mean time they sent to them into the land
of Galaad, Phinees the son of Eleazar the priest,
22:14. And ten princes with him, one of every tribe.
22:15. Who came to the children of Ruben, and of Gad, and
the half tribe of Manasses, into the land of Galaad, and
said to them:
22:16. Thus saith all the people of the Lord: What meaneth
this transgression? Why have you forsaken the Lord the God
of Israel, building a sacrilegious altar, and revolting
from the worship of him?
22:17. Is it a small thing to you that you sinned with
Beelphegor, and the stain of that crime remaineth in us to
this day? and many of the people perished.
22:18. And you have forsaken the Lord to day, and to morrow
his wrath will rage against all Israel.
22:19. But if you think the land of your possession to be
unclean, pass over to the land wherein is the tabernacle of
the Lord, and dwell among us: only depart not from the
Lord, and from our society, by building an altar beside the
altar of the Lord our God.
22:20. Did not Achan the son of Zare transgress the
commandment of the Lord, and his wrath lay upon all the
people of Israel? And he was but one man, and would to God
he alone had perished in his wickedness.
22:21. And the children of Ruben, and of Gad, and of the
half tribe of Manasses answered the princes of the
embassage of Israel:
22:22. The Lord the most mighty God, the Lord the most
mighty God, he knoweth, and Israel also shall understand:
If with the design of transgression we have set up this
altar, let him not save us, but punish us immediately:
22:23. And if we did it with that mind, that we might lay
upon it holocausts, and sacrifice, and victims of peace
offerings, let him require and judge:
22:24. And not rather with this thought and design, that we
should say: To morrow your children will say to our
children: What have you to do with the Lord the God of
Israel?
22:25. The Lord hath put the river Jordan for a border
between us and you, O ye children of Ruben, and ye children
of Gad: and therefore you have no part in the Lord. And by
this occasion your children shall turn away our children
from the fear of the Lord. We therefore thought it best,
22:26. And said: Let us build us an altar, not for
holocausts, nor to offer victims,
22:27. But for a testimony between us and you, and our
posterity and yours, that we may serve the Lord, and that
we may have a right to offer both holocausts, and victims
and sacrifices of peace offerings: and that your children
to morrow may not say to our children: You have no part in
the Lord.
22:28. And if they will say so, they shall answer them:
Behold the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not
for holocausts, nor for sacrifice, but for a testimony
between us and you.
22:29. God keep us from any such wickedness that we should
revolt from the Lord, and leave off following his steps, by
building an altar to offer holocausts, and sacrifices, and
victims, beside the altar of the Lord our God, which is
erected before his tabernacle.
22:30. And when Phinees the priest, and the princes of the
embassage, who were with him, had heard this, they were
satisfied: and they admitted most willingly the words of
the children of Ruben, and Gad, and of the half tribe of
Manasses,
22:31. And Phinees the priest the son of Eleazar said to
them: Now we know that the Lord is with us, because you are
not guilty of this revolt, and you have delivered the
children of Israel from the hand of the Lord.
22:32. And he returned with the princes from the children
of Ruben and Gad, out of the land of Galaad, into the land
of Chanaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them
word again.
22:33. And the saying pleased all that heard it. And the
children of Israel praised God, and they no longer said
that they would go up against them, and fight, and destroy
the land of their possession.
22:34. And the children of Ruben, and the children of Gad
called the altar which they had built, Our testimony, that
the Lord is God,
Josue Chapter 23
Josue being old admonisheth the people to keep God's
commandments: and to avoid marriages and all society with
the Gentiles for fear of being brought to idolatry.
23:1. And when a long time was passed, after that the Lord
had given peace to Israel, all the nations round about
being subdued. and Josue being now old, and far advanced
in years:
23:2. Josue called for all Israel, and for the elders, and
for the princes, and for the judges, and for the masters,
and said to them: I am old, and far advanced in years,
23:3. And you see all that the Lord your God hath done to
all the nations round about, how he himself hath fought for
you:
23:4. And now since he hath divided to you by lot all the
land, from the east of the Jordan unto the great sea, ant
many nations yet remain:
23:5. The Lord your God will destroy them, and take them
away from before your face, and you shall possess the land
as he hath promised you.
23:6. Only take courage, and be careful to observe all
things that are written in the book of the law of Moses:
and turn not aside from them neither to the right hand nor
to the left:
23:7. Lest after that you are come in among the Gentiles,
who will remain among you, you should swear by the name of
their gods, and serve them, and adore them:
23:8. But cleave ye unto the Lord your God, as you have
done until this day.
23:9. And then the Lord God will take away before your eyes
nations that are great and very strong, and no man shall be
able to resist you.
23:10. One of you shall chase a thousand men of the
enemies: because the Lord your God himself will fight for
you, as he hath promised.
23:11. This only take care of with all diligence, that you
love the Lord your God.
23:12. But if you will embrace the errors of these nations
that dwell among you, and make marriages with them, and
join friendships:
23:13. Know ye for a certainty that the Lord your God will
not destroy them before your face, but they shall be a pit
and a snare in your way, and a stumbling-block at your
side, and stakes in your eyes, till he take you away and
destroy you from off this excellent land, which he hath
given you.
23:14. Behold this day I am going into the way of all the
earth, and you shall know with all your mind that of all
the words which the Lord promised to perform for you, not
one hath failed,
23:15. Therefore as he hath fulfilled in deed, what he
promised, and all things prosperous have come: so will he
bring upon you all the evils he hath threatened, till he
take you away and destroy you from off this excellent land,
which he hath given you,
23:16. When you shall have transgressed the covenant of the
Lord your God, which he hath made with you, and shall have
served strange gods, and adored them: then shall the
indignation of the Lord rise up quickly and speedily
against you, and you shall be taken away from this
excellent land, which he hath delivered to you.
Josue Chapter 24
Josue assembleth the people, and reneweth the covenant
between them and God. His death and burial.
24:1. And Josue gathered together all the tribes of Israel
in Sichem, and called for the ancients, and the princes and
the judges, and the masters: and they stood in the sight of
the Lord:
24:2. And he spoke thus to the people: Thus saith the Lord
the God of Israel: Your fathers dwelt of old on the other
side of the river, Thare the father of Abraham, and Nachor:
and they served strange gods.
Of the river... The Euphrates.
24:3. And I took your father Abraham from the borders of
Mesopotamia: and brought him into the land of Chanaan: and
I multiplied his seed,
24:4. And gave him Isaac: and to him again I gave Jacob and
Esau. And I gave to Esau mount Seir for his possession: but
Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
24:5. And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I struck Egypt with
many signs and wonders.
24:6. And I brought you and your fathers out of Egypt, and
you came to the sea: and the Egyptians pursued your fathers
with chariots and horsemen, as far as the Red Sea.
24:7. And the children of Israel cried to the Lord: and he
put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the
sea upon them, and covered them. Your eyes saw all that I
did in Egypt, and you dwelt in the wilderness a long time.
24:8. And I brought you into the land of the Amorrhite, who
dwelt beyond the Jordan. And when they fought against you,
I delivered them into your hands, and you possessed their
land, and slew them.
24:9. And Balac son of Sephor king of Moab arose and fought
against Israel. And he sent and called for Balaam son of
Beor, to curse you:
24:10. And I would not hear him, but on the contrary I
blessed you by him, and I delivered you out of his hand.
24:11. And you passed over the Jordan, and you came to
Jericho. And the men of that city fought against you, the
Amorrhite, and the Pherezite, and the Chanaanite, and the
Hethite, and the Gergesite, and the Hevite, and the
Jebusite: and I delivered them into your hands.
24:12. And I sent before you and I drove them out from
their places, the two kings of the Amorrhites, not with thy
sword nor with thy bow,
24:13. And I gave you a land, in which you had not
laboured, and cities to dwell in which you built not,
vineyards and oliveyards, which you planted not.
24:14. Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him with a
perfect and most sincere heart: and put away the gods which
your fathers served in Mesopotamia and in Egypt, and serve
the Lord.
24:15. But if it seem evil to you to serve the Lord, you
have your choice: choose this day that which pleaseth you,
whom you would rather serve, whether the gods which your
fathers served in Mesopotamia, or the gods of the
Amorrhites, in whose land you dwell: but as for me and my
house we will serve thee Lord,
24:16. And the people answered, and said, God forbid we
should leave the Lord, and serve strange gods.
24:17. The Lord our God he brought us and our fathers out
of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage: and did
very great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the
way by which we journeyed, and among all the people through
whom we passed.
24:18. And he hath cast out all the nations, the Amorrhite
the inhabitant of the land into which we are come.
Therefore we will serve the Lord, for he is our God.
24:19. And Josue said to the people: You will not be able
to serve the Lord: for he is a holy God, and mighty and
jealous, and will not forgive your wickedness and sins.
You will not be able to serve the Lord, etc... This was not
said by way of discouraging them; but rather to make them
more earnest and resolute, by setting before them the
greatness of the undertaking, and the courage and constancy
necessary to go through with it.
24:20. If you leave the Lord, and serve strange gods, he
will turn, and will afflict you, and will destroy you after
all the good he hath done you.
24:21. And the people said to Josue: No, it shall not be so
as thou sayest, but we will serve the Lord.
24:22. And Josue said to the people, You are witnesses,
that you yourselves have chosen you the Lord to serve him.
And they answered: We are witnesses.
24:23. Now therefore, said he, put away strange gods from
among you, and incline your hearts to the Lord the God of
Israel.
24:24. And the people said to Josue: We will serve the Lord
our God, and we will be obedient to his commandments.
24:25. Josue therefore on that day made a covenant, and set
before the people commandments and judgments in Sichem.
24:26. And he wrote all these things in the volume of the
law of the Lord: and he took a great stone, and set it
under the oak that was in the sanctuary of the Lord.
24:27. And he said to all the people: Behold this stone
shall be a testimony unto you, that it hath heard all the
words of the Lord, which he hath spoken to you: lest
perhaps hereafter you will deny it, and lie to the Lord
your God.
It hath heard... This is a figure of speech, by which
sensation is attributed to inanimate things; and they are
called upon, as it were, to bear witness in favour of the
great Creator, whom they on their part constantly obey.
24:28. And he sent the people away every one to their own
possession,
24:29. And after these things Josue the son of Nun the
servant of the Lord died, being a hundred and ten years
old:
And after, etc... If Josue wrote this book, as is commonly
believed, these last verses were added by Samuel, or some
other prophet.
24:30. And they buried him in the border of his possession
in Thamnathsare, which is situate in mount Ephraim, on the
north side of mount Gaas.
24:31. And Israel served the Lord all the days of Josue,
and of the ancients that lived a long time after Josue, and
that had known all the works of the Lord which he had done
in Israel.
24:32. And the bones of Joseph which the children of Israel
had taken out of Egypt, they buried in Sichem, in that part
of the field which Jacob had bought of the sons of Hemor
the father of Sichem, for a hundred young ewes, and it was
in the possession of the sons of Joseph.
24:33. Eleazar also the son of Aaron died: and they buried
him in Gabaath that belongeth to Phinees his son, which was
given him in mount Ephraim.
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